An Assessment of the Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on University Students' Lives in Kenya

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic remains a historical world disaster, which affected all sectors. The suspension of physical learning in universities in Kenya raised eyebrows. This could not have been the case if proper disaster and business continuity plans were in place. The researchers were provoked to find out how the pandemic affected the lives of university students. The study was carried out across public and private universities targeting a population of 1110 students. A mixed methods approach was used, survey design was applied, simple random sampling was used to select the respondents, and primary data were collected using a semi-structured online questionnaire developed from Google Forms where instant data from respondents was analyzed. It is evident that students’ lives in the university were adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Flexibility and adaptability are needed to be able to respond to change. It is paramount that universities develop quality disaster management and business continuity plans (QDMBCP) to counter and manage disasters in future.